EXPERIENCES IN SUMATRA. 



2 93 



god.' The advent of a great comet shortly before the eclipse, and an 

 epidemic in the native kampong, shook the little faith which the 

 natives had acquired in the astronomers. There was a rumor that our 

 camp was to be destroyed. I do not know that there was any real 

 clanger, but the police department was on the alert until after the 

 eclipse was over. 



The six weeks before the eclipse were busy ones. There were ten 

 telescopes to be mounted and carefully adjusted. Frequent time ob- 

 servations had to be made, experiments were carried out to determine 



Intramercurial Cameras (Shutter Open). 



the best methods of developing plates in that climate, for all the 

 observations were to be photographic. A succession of minor diffi- 

 culties came up for solution. 



Our day began at half past five, with a bath. After the Dutch 

 breakfast of cold meat, bread and jam, we were taken to camp by a 

 tram. At ' pocool stenga satoo ' (12:30 o'clock) the tram came for 

 us and Ave were soon drinking an iced ' lemonada ' at the Oranje. 

 After a short rest and riztafel (luncheon) we were on our way to 

 work again. In the afternoon the Malay driver turned his pony out 

 to graze at the station, and, finding a comfortable bit of shade, went 

 to sleep until it was time to return to the hotel. This was usually 

 about G :30, when it became too dark to work. The inevitable ' mandee ' 

 (bath) was always the first luxury indulged in upon reaching the 

 hotel in the evening. The ' badkamer ' (bath room) was a large room 

 of brick or cement, in a separate pavilion, lighted by a small, high 

 grating in daytime and by a diminutive candle at night. The floor 



